IDz Tools: Their Impact on Mainframe Modernization

In the current context, where digital transformation and application modernization are crucial to achieving and maintaining business competitiveness, IDz tools bring significant value to organizations. 

Especially to organizations that own mainframe systems and require integrating these infrastructures with modern development practices, such as DevOps and agile development. 

IDz tools enable developers to work more efficiently and collaboratively in the z/OS environment, delivering improved quality and speed of mainframe application development. 

In addition, they facilitate integration with distributed systems and the adoption of new technologies, which allows for optimizing resources and reducing the delivery time of new functionalities to the market.

In this article we explain what IDz tools are, what their main features are, and why and how they allow modernizing development within a mainframe.

What are IDz tools?

IDz is an Eclipse-based interface that provides a modern, visual desktop for Mainframe Z. 

At the same time, it has functions that allow work with a more intuitive approach offering: 

• Automatic error detection.
• Advanced code editing.
• Interactive application debugging.
• Integration with version control systems.
• Static and dynamic code analysis capabilities.

In addition, it contributes collaboration tools and connectivity with other development platforms, which improves integration into agile and DevOps development environments.

In summary, IBM Developer for z/OS® (IDz) is a modern and robust toolset for developing and maintaining applications IBM z/OS, which provides COBOL, PL/I, High Level Assembler, REXX, C/C++, JCL and Java development tools, on an Eclipse base.

What are the main features of IDz tools?

IDz provides code and content assistance.

About his Main featuresIBM highlights the following:

1. Modern and simple z/OS development

Provides advanced features for COBOL, PL/I, REXX, and JCL editors, including improved navigation and content assistance, real-time syntax checking and underlining, hyperlinks for copybooks and JCL Procs, and support for sequence numbers.

2. Advanced debugging of z/OS composite applications

Provides the component of strategic cleansing from IBM, IBM z/OS Debugger for debugging applications written in high-level COBOL, PL/I, C/C++, and Assembler environments, connecting to a variety of z/OS environments.

3. Advanced tools for quality analysis and application structure

Provides structural analysis of applications, as well as the ability to perform code analysis and metrics, to help deliver COBOL and PL/I applications that conform to internal programming guidelines.

4. Automated unit testing and code coverage

Automatically generate unit tests with ZUnit to find and fix problems. Plus, combine unit tests with code coverage analysis to determine gaps in code coverage. application testing.

5. IBM Dependency Based Build (available in Enterprise Edition)

Enables you to standardize DevOps processes across all platforms with software configuration management tools and continuous integration like Git and Jenkins. 

Provides a scripting language-based automation capability for creating traditional z/OS applications that are developed in programming languages such as COBOL and PL/I.

6. Source control, lifecycle management and problem diagnosis integration

Provides the ability to adopt modern, parallel development practices, with built-in integration with Git and IBM Engineering Workflow Management. As well as performing integrations with legacy library managers such as CA Endevor Software Change Manager. 

7. Microsoft VS Code or Red Hat CodeReady IDE Options (with Enterprise Edition)

Provides z/OS developers the option to choose IBM Wazi Developer for VS Code™ or Wazi Developer for Workspaces as their integrated development environment.

8. Customizing and extending the development environment

Allows developers to modify options to create a custom workspace. 

The Workbench provides APIs and documented tools that make it easy to extend out-of-the-box capabilities into a company's unique functions.

9. Data Perspective

You can see DB2 tables, their columns, primary and foreign keys, indexes, and their relationships with other tables in graphic form, which allows you to quickly understand the data model.

Why does IDz enable modern development within a mainframe?

In the IT industry it is often said that IDz is a frontend framework, which allows modernizing development within a mainframe.

While IDz is not a frontend framework in the traditional sense that is associated with web development (like Angular, React, or Vue.js), it does provide an interface and tools that modernize development in the context of mainframes. 

Some of the reasons why we claim that IDz enables modern development within a mainframe are as follows:

1. Graphical User Interface (GUI). IDz provides a modern, intuitive graphical interface that makes it easy to develop and maintain applications on the mainframe. This is in contrast to traditional command-line interfaces (CLIs), which can be less accessible and efficient. 

Additionally, the GUI includes advanced code editors, visual debugging tools, and wizards for project configuration and management, thereby improving developer productivity and experience.

2. Advanced Development ToolsIt has an advanced code editor, with support for syntax highlighting, autocompletion, refactoring, and code analysis. 

It also features advanced debugging tools that enable developers to identify and fix bugs more efficiently, and provides unit and integration testing capabilities.

3. Facilitating collaboration and version controlIt is compatible with version control tools such as Git, allowing effective management of source code and facilitating collaboration between development teams. 

It also provides modern workflows, with support for agile methodologies and DevOps practices, that promote continuous delivery and effective collaboration.

4. Task automation. IDz enables the automation of routine tasks and workflows, reducing manual burden and increasing efficiency.

5. Standardization of processes. Provides tools to standardize development and deployment processes, ensuring consistency and quality in the software produced.

6. Modernizing and refactoring code. It has tools that facilitate the modernization of legacy code, making it more maintainable and efficient.

7. Integration with modern technologies. Provides support for integration with new technologies and architectures, such as cloud services and microservices, enabling more comprehensive modernization of mainframe applications.

Impact of IDz tools on the IT market

The level of penetration of IBM Developer for z Systems (IDz) in the IT market can be analyzed from several perspectives, to compensate for the lack of exact figures that allow it to be quantified precisely.

However, if we take as a reference that the mainframe world is made up of the 90% of Fortune 500 companies, the 92% of the main banks, the 90% of the main insurance companies and the 70% of the main retailers, we can quickly deduce an estimated incidence level.

In fact, IDz is very popular in industries that rely heavily on mainframe systems, such as the financial and banking sector, government organizations and insurance companies.

For example, the report Mainframe 2020: A catalyst for transformation According to MIT Technology Review Insights, 881% of the banks in the World's Top 50 Banks ranking and 671% of the Fortune Top 100 Companies use these technological infrastructures.

Even, Mainframes now handle nearly 70% of IT workloads of world production. 

Another parameter to consider is the IBM customer base that owns z Systems (mainframes), and that adopted IDz as part of their development toolset. 

It should also be noted that competition is limited. While there are other development tools for mainframes, IDz has a significant advantage in that it is an IBM product, perfectly integrated with the z Systems ecosystem.

On the other hand, there is the need for organizations with legacy systems on mainframes that are looking Modernize your applications to increase efficiency and reduce costs. IDz offers solutions that facilitate this modernization, driving its adoption. In parallel, as the adoption of DevOps practices in software development increases, tools such as IDz, which support these practices, experience an increase in their use.

As for IDz innovations for the immediate future, Carina Hermida, Account Manager at IT Patagonia, described in the Second Meetup of the Argentine Mainframe Community at IBM – Buenos Aires, the very important advances in the world of application development, which IDZ introduces with its graphical environment, allowing the incorporation of DevOps with significant savings in the programming, debugging, testing and transition to production process.

What are the applications of IBM IDZ tools?

IBM Developer for z Systems (IDz) tools have a wide range of applications in software development and maintenance for mainframe environments. 

These include:

Programming: IDz enables developers to write, edit, and manage code in languages such as COBOL, PL/I, Assembler, and Java, among others.

Refactoring: Facilitates the reorganization and improvement of existing code to increase its readability and efficiency without altering its functionality.

Debugging code: Provides advanced debugging tools to identify and fix errors in your code, including the ability to perform source and assembler level debugging.

Unit and integration testing: Supports the creation and execution of tests to ensure that the different parts of the application work correctly both in isolation and together.

Impact analysis: Allows developers to understand how changes in code can affect other parts of the system, helping to mitigate risks and ensure software stability.

Browsing and exploring the code: Provides tools to navigate source code, identify dependencies, and understand application structure.

Version control: It integrates with version control systems such as Git, allowing effective control of source code and facilitating collaboration between development teams.

Code comparison and merging: Provides tools to compare different versions of the code and merge changes, ensuring the integrity and consistency of development.

Process automation: Facilitates the integration of DevOps practices, enabling continuous delivery and greater agility in software development.

CI/CD Pipeline: Provides support for setting up continuous integration and delivery pipelines, improving development efficiency and speed.

Application migration: It has tools for modernizing and migrating legacy applications to new platforms or environments, ensuring business continuity and technological updating.

Integration with cloud services: Provides support for integration with cloud services, facilitating the adoption of hybrid architectures and infrastructure modernization.

Intuitive user interface: Delivers a modern, easy-to-use interface that improves developer productivity compared to traditional command-line interfaces.

Automation of Repetitive Tasks: It has tools to automate repetitive tasks and routine processes, freeing up time for creative and higher-value work.

What needs or pain points do IDz tools solve? 

One of the main challenges facing the IT industry is the trend that marks the decrease in available talent, in relation to mainframe specialists and Cobol developers, one of the first programming languages widely used by these infrastructures. 

By working with an intuitive interface, common to other languages, IDz allows the Minimizing learning curves. This factor facilitates the Attracting new talent, making Cobol development more attractive.

With an intuitive, efficient and collaborative interface, IDz tools reduce the complexity of developing and maintaining legacy code, making it easier to understand. 

In parallel, its graphical interface and modern features (such as auto-completion and refactoring) Increase the efficiency of application development and maintenance, and result in improved productivity.

In addition, it allows to solve difficulties in debugging and solve errors in a faster and more accurate manner. In particular, the Automated testing capabilities help ensure that code changes do not introduce new bugs, improving software quality.

Automating tasks and standardizing processes reduces the possibility of human error and improves development consistency.

As for the reduction of inefficiencies, compatibility with tools like Git, facilitates version management and collaboration between teams. 

While automating routine tasks and workflows reduces the time and manual effort required, and increases overall efficiency.

At this point, it is worth highlighting that DevOps practices and automation reduce development and deployment cycle times, allowing organizations to respond more quickly to market demands.

From the perspective of the challenges that arise in the DevOps practices implementationIDz makes it easy to implement continuous integration and delivery pipelines, promoting more agile development and faster, more frequent software delivery. It even allows you to continuously integrate and test code changes, improving quality and reducing delivery time.

Regarding the inconveniences associated with the Application modernization and migrationCode refactoring tools make it easy to update legacy applications to make them more sustainable and maintainable. 

Additionally, IDz supports integration with modern technologies such as cloud services and microservices architectures.

Benefits of a modernized development environment with IDZ

Benefits of modernized development environments with IDZ include:

• Intuitive and easy-to-use user interface.
• Advanced development tools that speed up the coding and debugging process.
• Integrated version control and code review, improving collaboration between development teams.
• Integration with modern tools such as CU/CD (Continuous Integration and Delivery), GIT and Eclipse, facilitating software development and deployment.
• Direct access to mainframe resources, which simplifies the development and testing of applications specific to this platform.
• Running unit tests on mainframe applications. A feature that helps ensure software quality and identify errors early in the development process.
• Static and dynamic analysis with advanced features, which help to identify problems in the code before implementation
• Advanced navigation and search tools make code easier to understand and maintain.

By providing tools, features, views, and perspectives that greatly facilitate the construction, maintenance, understanding, execution, and debugging of programs, IDz boosts the recruitment of talent. 

How to modernize a development environment with IDZ?

Modernizing a development environment with IDZ improves software efficiency and quality while reducing costs.

To achieve these benefits it is important to:

• Conduct a thorough analysis and assessment of the current development environment to identify areas for improvement and define clear objectives for modernization.
• Implement a new development operating model that includes the adoption of the IDZ product as a primary tool.
• Design and establish a new testing model that integrates with the new development environment, to ensure greater efficiency and quality in the tests performed.
• Provide specialized training on the efficient and effective use of the IDZ product to the entire team involved in development.
• Develop a detailed roadmap that sets out the steps to be taken in the medium and long term, considering modernization goals and the future needs of the development environment.

Each of these steps has high relevance and impact on the goal of achieving efficient modernization of a development environment with IDz.

Conclusion

The need to modernize mainframe infrastructures responds to the growing Demand for agility, efficiency and responsiveness in today's business environment. 

In this context, organizations need to integrate their legacy systems with emerging technologies and modern methodologies to remain competitive. 

Through our Mainframe Center of Excellence We lead mainframe modernization projects, taking full advantage of the benefits of modern tools and best practices., such as IDz tools.

As a result, our customers streamline their development processes, reduce costs and improve the quality of their software, while leveraging the robust capabilities of their mainframe systems. 

We leverage IDz tools to enable a smoother transition to mainframe modernization, maximizing the value of existing investments and accelerating the delivery of new capabilities to market.